Quick Takes: New And Soon To Open Hotels And Lounges Around The World

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I don’t have the opportunity to cover every new hotel and lounge opening, but here are some quick notes and thoughts on some that have come up over recent weeks.

• The Park Hyatt Marrakech has finally opened, many years behind schedule, but better late than never! The category 7 property will set you back 25K-35K points per night. One of these days I’ll have to make it to Morroco…

• S. Regis has lacked a California resort since losing the S. Regis Monarch Beach to Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand. But The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach has now joined Marriott and will be rebranded as a S. Regis after undergoing a renovation.

• Kauai’s historic Coco Palms Resort, once a Hollywood destination and movie set, was destroyed by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. That’s the same hurricane which set the chickens free from their coops to take over that island. After decades of neglect, it will be developed into IHG Kimpton’s flagship west coast resort. The goal is to open Coco Palms, A Kimpton Resort in 2026, but Kauai time is legendary and I’d be shocked if they can stick to that date.

• Hilton’s Conrad New York Midtown has reflagged as a Marriott Luxury Collection Hotel Manhattan Midtown. Points rates currently range from 70K-106K per night.

• Hilton’s Arizona Biltmore Waldorf Astoria is now the Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels & Resorts, also by Hilton. Perhaps hotel chains have too many brands these days?

• The S. Regis Bal Harbour was a gem under Starwood, but customer service fell to zero when Marriott took over. The S. Regis chain will soon have a 2nd Florida beach resort on the Gulf Coast when it opens this summer, the S. Regis Longboat Key Resort. Points rates currently range from 88K-116K per night. The 168-room resort will include a spa, a lazy river, a 350,000-gallon lagoon filled with sea creatures that guests will have the opportunity to swim with, and an 800 foot private beach. Hopefully, service will match the facilities!

• Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore will become a Ritz-Carlton in August after selling for $725 million. The 450 room resort is located on 1,300 acres of oceanfront property, far away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu’s Waikiki. Points rooms will be bookable when the resort converts to Marriott next month.

• The Park Hyatt Vienna will be sold after its parent company ran into financial troubles. Absolutely stunning property and views, but I won’t cry if Hyatt loses this hotel. We found the service to be very cold and indifferent. Among other problems, housekeeping tossed kosher food from our fridge that was supposed to be transferred when we were forced to switch rooms. At checkout, the hotel couldn’t locate a large box of croissants we shlepped from Paris (if you tried the insane croissants from The Reserve you would do the same!) that they had accepted into the hotel freezer. The service recovery? A miserly 6,000 points and “the hopes that we may in the future once again have the opportunity to welcome you back and show you the real Park Hyatt Vienna experience.” Sorry, but I don’t plan on there being a next time.

• That being said, I still love the Park Hyatt brand and can’t wait to try out upcoming Park Hyatts in Johannesburg, London, Cancun, and Los Cabos!

• The Club at SFO opened last week in Terminal 1 and is their largest location to date, with opening hours from 4am-11pm. The entry fee for this signature location is $75 per person, but luckily is accessible via Priority Pass. It features a fireplace, shower suite, workout suite, relaxation room, and more.

• Priority Pass restaurant access is now gone from Chase cards, but hopefully the Venture X Business Mastercard can keep on offering it. It’s always fun to load up on practically unlimited free snacks and drinks when flying with the family out of CLE and other airports!

 

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• A Chase Sapphire Lounge will open in LAX’s TBIT terminal near gate 148 and near the AMEX Centurion lounge. I love the Sapphire Lounge in LaGuardia (which is also near the AMEX Centurion lounge) and it’s great to see Chase continue to grow their lounge network! Other lounges can be found in Austin, Boston, Hong Kong, JFK, and Washington/IAD, Other upcoming locations include Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego, for a total of 11 planned and existing lounges and terraces. Now if only one of the banks would start offering more substantial kosher food offerings…

• AMEX will open a Centurion Lounge at Tokyo/HND next year, on the 4th floor of Terminal 3 of Haneda. This will be the first AMEX lounge in Japan as AMEX grows its impressive global Centurion Lounge network.

• A Capital One Lounge will open in JFK’s Terminal 4, where AMEX and Chase also have lounges. It will include a full-service coffee bar, grab-and-go food selection, fully stocked shower suites, power outlets at every seat, high-speed Wifi, partnerships with local breweries, mixologists, coffee roasters, exclusive beers, and more. Currently, open locations include Dallas, Denver, and Washington/IAD. Las Vegas is also planned and Capital One Landing concepts are planned for LaGuardia and Washington/DCA.

• Chase will operate a Sapphire Reserve lounge in Paris for the Olympics floating on the Seine River at 4 Port des Invalides. The lounge will be open from 11am-11pm daily from July 27-August 11th and cardholders can bring in a free guest. Be sure to have your Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card on you! The space will have free food, drinks, and the opportunity to meet and greet Olympic legends.

Which hotels and lounges are you looking forward to trying out?

HT: Leon F.